Sous Vide: Getting Started Class

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ChefSteps is a team of chefs, writers, and food lovers who develop recipes, techniques, and guides to help people cook better at home.

ChefSteps

Joule® Turbo Sous Vide

Ruler(s)

Baking/Cooling rack(s)

1/4 Sheet pan(s)

12-inch Skillet

1-gallon Ziplock-style freezer bag(s)

Steak(s)

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Neutral oil

Thyme

Garlic clove(s)

Bay leaf

Unsalted butter

Flake sea salt

Heat sous vide water bath to desired temperature according to our doneness guide.

[f 122]: Very rare
[f 126]: Rare
[f 129]: Medium-rare (our favorite)
[f 133]: Medium
[f 140]: Medium-well
[f 147]: Well-done
[f 154]: Very well-done

TIP: Don’t own a sous vide immersion circulator? Use <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/cook-sous-vide-tonight-stovetop-method">an improvised technique like this one</a>.

Heat sous vide bath

Using a ruler, measure thickness of steaks (thickness determines sous vide cook time). Pat steaks dry with a paper towel, and generously season on all sides with salt and pepper. Set a wire rack inside a 1/4 sheet pan and set next to stovetop.

Measure and season steaks

You may have heard talk about holding off on adding salt to your food toward the beginning of the cooking process, and it’s true that over time, salt will interact with proteins to alter the texture of meat. This is a function of time—the longer the meat and salt interact, the more the texture will be altered. In the case of sous vide steak, we ran tests to see whether salting impacted the texture in any discernibly negative way. It didn’t! So go on and season that beef before you cook. It’s all gonna work out great.

Salt and meat texture

In a 12-inch skillet, heat 15 g oil over high heat until just smoking. Add steaks to pan and cook, turning every 15 seconds, until browned on both sides, about 1 minute. Transfer steaks to prepared wire rack.

NOTE: This <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/presearing-for-sous-vide">presearing step</a> is optional but produces superior crust and flavor results when cooking meat sous vide.

Presear steaks (optional)

Place steaks and 30 g oil in a 1-gallon ziplock-style freezer bag or vacuum-seal bag, and turn steaks in bag to evenly coat with oil. Add thyme, garlic, and bay leaf (if using).

Seal bag using water displacement method or vacuum sealer.

TIP: You don’t need a dedicated sous vide bag to cook a steak sous vide. A high-quality, heavy-duty ziplock-style freezer bag will do just fine. For more information, check out our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/a-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-packaging-safety-sustainability-and-sourcing">Complete Guide to Sous Vide Packaging</a>.

Bag steaks

Lower bag into sous vide bath until steaks are fully submerged, and clip to side of water bath container.

Cook, following our timing guide for steak thickness.

1/2 inch / 1.3 cm: 30 minutes
3/4 inch / 2 cm: 45 minutes
1 inch / 2.5 cm: 1 hour
1 1/2 inches / 3.8 cm: 1 hour 30 minutes
2 inches / 5 cm: 2 hours

Once cooked, steaks can be held in sous vide bath for 1 hour without any loss in quality.

Cook steaks sous vide

Remove steaks from bag and transfer to a paper towel–lined plate or tray; reserve aromatics for finishing steaks if desired. Gently pat dry.

In a 12-inch skillet, heat remaining 15 g oil over high heat until just smoking. Add steaks and cook, flipping every 30 seconds, until a well-browned crust forms on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes total. 

If butter-basting, slide steaks to back of skillet, opposite handle, and add butter to front of skillet. Once butter is melted and foaming, add reserved aromatics. Tilt skillet so butter pools near handle of skillet, and using a spoon, baste steaks with butter and aromatics. Continuously baste steaks, flipping every 15 seconds, until deeply browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Reserve butter for serving.

NOTE: For steaks thinner than 1 inch, reduce searing time in order to avoid overcooking. This step can be a little smoky and splattery—turn on your oven hood or open a window for better ventilation.

Sear steaks

Transfer to cutting board and slice against grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle with sea salt, drizzle with reserved butter from basting (if you went that route), and serve.

Slice and serve

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and there’s more than one way to finish a steak, too. Here, from a simple sear to an epically delicious deep-fry technique, are five options for stepping up an already amazing sous vide steak.

Five ways to finish a sous vide steak

Check out the detailed instructions in the recipe above.

Pros: It’s quick, easy, and delicious!
Cons: Searing can be a little smoky and a little splattery.

Sear it

Preheat oven to [f 500] or set broiler to high (if broiling, set adjust oven rack to 6 inches below broiler element). Pat steak dry and place on a wire rack set inside a 1/2 sheet pan. Transfer to oven and cook until steak is well browned on top side, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a warm plate and serve.

Pros: No mess, no fuss.
Cons: If you don’t have a really great broiler, you might overcook the steak before it gets nicely browned.

Broil it

Dust steak on both sides with an even coating of all-purpose flour. In a 10-inch skillet, heat 15 g of neutral oil over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add steak and cook until a golden-brown crust develops on bottom side, about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on second side. Transfer to a warm plate and serve. 

Pros: Golden-brown, crunchy crust. Less oil splattering.
Cons: Not gluten-free!

Flour and sear it

Heat a grill using a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/two-zone-grilling-guide">two-zone grilling setup</a> and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/tips-tricks-season-your-grill-so-food-won-t-stick">clean and oil the grill grate</a>. Pat steak dry. Place steak on hot side of grill and cook until lightly charred on bottom side, about 1 minute. Flip, and cook until charred on second side, 1 minute longer. Transfer to a warm plate and serve.

Pros: Those classic grill marks! That traditional charcoal flavor!
Cons: Firing up the grill takes time, requires access to the outdoors, and can feel like a chore in the cold months.

Grill it

In a Dutch oven, heat 3 inches of neutral oil to [f 400]. Carefully add steak to oil and cook, using a spider skimmer to keep it elevated off bottom of pot, until it develops a deep-brown crust, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a warm plate, season with salt, and serve. 

TIP: At the last second, add some fresh herbs to the hot oil—we like parsley and sage—and fry until crispy, 15 to 30 seconds. Plop those crispy, deep-fried herbs on top of your steak to perk up the plate!

Pros: Perfect, even-all-around sear. Deep, delicious flavor. (And no, it doesn’t taste greasy.)
Cons: Do you really want to heat up a huge vat of oil to finish a steak? Maybe not. (But if you do, mmm, boy.)

Deep-fry it (yes, really)

When you bone up on your beef cuts, you can approach the meat counter with swagger, armed with enough knowledge to choose your cut of choice with confidence. Our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts">ChefSteps Beef Catalog</a> covers every cut, but let’s focus on steak. First things first: What is a steak, anyway? Generally speaking, steak can refer to any cut of meat that’s sliced perpendicular to the muscle fibers, sometimes with a bone included. While we generally use the word to talk about beef, other tasty creatures—pigs, lambs, deer, bison, emus—can be carved into steaks, too. (Here, however, we’re talking exclusively about cows.) Often, people assume a steak is an individual serving, but we actually prefer to buy one big one and then slice it up for guests to share. 

Butchers divide cows into eight main sections, called primal cuts. These are the short loin (back), sirloin (lower back), rib (by the rib cage), chuck (shoulder), plate (belly), flank (underbelly), round (hindquarter), and brisket and shank (breast and upper leg). Beef cuts commonly designated steaks come from all but the brisket and shank sections—tough, fatty breast meat is more suitable for stews or deli-style pickled preparations such as corned beef and pastrami. The loin—the little-used muscle group that runs the length of a bovine back, from shoulder to hip—is made up of the short loin and the sirloin; the first produces many of the priciest and most tender steaks. Cut from the rib section, ribeyes are another popular high-end choice, offering both great flavor and a nice texture. Hardworking muscles in the chuck, plate, and flank sections produce tougher steaks, but prepared properly, these value cuts can be incredibly satisfying, with rich, deeply beefy flavor. 

Below are a bunch of cuts you’re likely to find on a steakhouse menu or behind the counter at your trusty butcher shop. Or you can check out our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/your-ultimate-guide-to-grilling-cuts">ultimate guide to steak cuts</a>, that goes into even more detail. Is it exhaustive? Hoo boy, no freaking way. Names vary from region to region, country to country, continent to continent. What’s more, new names pop up all the time—we’re looking at you, merlot cut—as chefs and beef-industry insiders lure foodie types with novel meats. So let’s call this a list of common steaks and dig on in.LOIN<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-flap-steak">Bavette</a>: Also known as flap steak, this French-style steak—cut from the unflatteringly named “flap meat” just above the flank—has been gaining popularity in the states in recent years. It’s similar to skirt or flank steak in terms of fat and flavor.<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-boneless-new-york-strip-steak">New York Strip (Kansas City Strip)</a>: Cut from the short loin, strip steaks are less fatty than ribeyes and still pack some seriously beefy flavor.<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-porterhouse-steak">Porterhouse</a> and <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-t-bone-steak">T-Bone</a>: The porterhouse is cut from the rear end of the short loin and includes the tenderloin steak plus a large strip steak. Cut closer to the front of the loin, the T-bone contains a smaller section of tenderloin.<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-filet-mignon">Tenderloin (Filet Mignon)</a>: Relatively lean and velvety-tender, tenderloin steaks are the most delicate of the bunch and tend to be pricey. While tenderloin is prized for its texture, it’s less flavorful than some tougher cuts—in life, it seems, there are always trade-offs.<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-tri-tip-steak">Tri-Tip (Newport, Triangle)</a>: Closely associated with the distinct barbecue tradition of Santa Maria, California, this cheap, juicy cut comes from a triangular muscle at the bottom of the sirloin, right where it meets the round and flank sections.RIB<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-boneless-ribeye-steak">Ribeye</a>: Carnivores who favor ribeye—a rich, well-marbled steak from the steer’s rib section—praise its balance of beefy flavor and tender texture.CHUCK<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-flat-iron-steak">Flat Iron (Top Blade Chuck)</a>: Tender but gristly, the flat iron steak is increasingly common on restaurant menus.PLATE<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-inside-skirt-steak">Skirt</a>: A thin, coarse-grained cut that’s popular in Tex-Mex dishes and is sometimes labeled “fajita steak,” skirt steak has a distinct, delicious gamey quality. It’s an easy cut to overcook, but when prepared properly, skirt steak is a real treat.<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-hanger-steak">Hanger</a>: This muscle hangs off the cow’s diaphragm, hence its name. A favorite at French bistros—where it’ll be listed as onglet—this long, skinny muscle has great flavor but can be chewy if overcooked.FLANK<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-flank-steak">Flank</a>: A large rectangular cut with lean muscle fibers, flank steak starts out pretty tough but has great beefy flavor—lots of cooks like to marinate it in something acidic before tossing it on the grill or into a stir-fry.ROUND<a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/cuts/beef-top-round">Top Round</a>: A lean, moderately tender steak cut from the inside portion of the hind leg.

Know your steak cuts

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Where’s the beef?

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Get saucy

Steak, man. There’s nothing like it. And the best way to cook a steak, bar none, is to cook it sous vide.Sous vide steak means perfectly cooked steak, every single time. No need to worry about “ruining” a pricey dry-aged ribeye; no need to babysit or fuss over your beef to cook it just right. Seal the steak in a bag, drop it in a precisely calibrated temperature-controlled bath, and all you have to do is take a minute or two to finish it on the stove when you’re ready to eat.Our foolproof sous vide method for cooking tender steak cuts produces consistently excellent steaks, cooked to exactly your ideal level of doneness with a burnished sear on the outside. The result is big beefy flavor of meat complemented by aromatic notes of garlic and herbs. <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/ultimate-guide-to-steak">Choose your steak</a>, measure its thickness, choose your preferred level of doneness, and then all you have to do is set the temperature of your sous vide bath and bag up your beef. (For the most flavorful steak, we recommend <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/presearing-for-sous-vide">presearing the steak</a> before putting it in the bag, but it’ll be plenty tasty without that step.)Pull out the steak when you’re ready to eat, give it a quick sear, and serve it up with a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/perfect-pomme-puree">silky pomme purée</a> (or a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/thrice-baked-potato">cheesy thrice-baked potato!</a>), and you’ve got yourself a better-than-a-pricey-steakhouse meal that you can make any day of the week.

Sous Vide Steak